Girl’s Heart Stops Beating While Riding Disney’s Tower of Terror

Leanne Deacon, a 16-year old girl on vacation from Britain, was excited about riding the MGM Studios’ "Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" ride at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The ride depicts a creepy haunted hotel where riders are placed in an elevator, the door is closed, and the elevator quickly shoots up 13 stories and then plummets back to the ground, then repeats the heart-stopping ride a second time. For Leanne Deacon, the ride was literally heart-stopping.

According to Jim Solomons, an Orange County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Leanne "had said she felt strange, but she was okay after leaving the ride." However, her condition quickly deteriorated and as of Tuesday night she was listed as being in critical condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman. No other passengers complained of any injuries or lasting discomfort after disembarking from the ride, but Disney said in a written statement that the ride would be closed until further information is available. "Our concern is for the family and we are working with them to provide whatever assistance they need," the statement said.

Concern over amusement park rides has steadily grown over the past several years, as the public has begun to question whether more measures need to be taken to ensure the safety of theme parks. A 77-year old Minnesota woman died in February after riding the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at the Magic Kingdom, but the medical examiner issued a statement saying that her death "was not unexpected" because she suffered from poor health at the time. But last month a 4-year old Pennsylvania boy died after riding the "Mission: Space" exhibit at Florida’s Epcot Center theme park, even though the boy met the height requirements for the ride and had no previously existing medical conditions that would have been exacerbated by the ride. The ride is a particularly intense one, simulating a rocket launch and spinning riders around in a centrifuge. Since the "Mission: Space" attraction opened in 2003, seven people have been taken to the hospital afterward suffering from cheat pains, nausea, or fainting, a statistic that has alarmed many parents and lawmakers.

Florida’s major theme parks are not regulated by the state, and instead have their own inspectors. Millions of people worldwide visit amusement parks each year, and companies such as Disney are raking in huge profits as a result of designing ever-more-thrilling and ever-more-dangerous rides. It behooves the state of Florida and all other states to pass legislation requiring that all rides be inspected and regulated by state officials to ensure that they are safe and reasonable, so that visitors to amusement parks are able to return home safe and healthy after an enjoyable day. After all, amusement parks featuring rides where people die should not be called amusement parks.